Philosophy

The philosophy program at Goucher College emphasizes both the history of philosophy and the practice of philosophizing. By studying the history of philosophy, students discover that philosophy has changed dramatically over the centuries with respect to both its content and its character. By engaging in close readings of primary texts, students come to see not only how philosophical thought has continually put its own truths into question, but how many of the most familiar academic disciplines began as philosophic questions. By practicing philosophy, students slowly develop skills of analysis and methodological self-awareness that provide them the conceptual tools necessary to make good judgments and to begin solving contemporary problems.

To quote William James, "philosophy is the habit of always seeing an alternative." By creating alternatives, philosophy holds out the promise of shaping a better world. It is, finally, this realization that lies at the heart of our mission.